Philanthropist and star of the Netflix reality show "Bling Empire, Anna Shay, has died unexpectedly at 62. Ms Shay died from a stroke, according to People.
In a statement, the family said, "It saddens our hearts to announce that Anna Shay, a loving mother, grandmother, charismatic star, and our brightest ray of sunshine, has passed away at the early age of 62 from a stroke. Anna taught us many life lessons on how not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the finer things. Her impact on our lives will be forever missed but never forgotten.”
Mr Shay was a Los Angeles socialite and appeared on two seasons of the Netflix show.
Soon after her death, tributes poured in. Mi Li on her Instagram wrote, "RIP @annashay93 you are truly one of a kind and we will miss you forever.”
Producer Jeff Jenkins wrote, "Anna Shay was the real-life “Auntie Mame,” sweeping all of us up into her spontaneous and preposterous adventures, while gently offering us her common sense wisdom during our most challenging times. She didn't care much for her “bling” but deeply loved her son and her parents. I adored her. The show Bling Empire would not have existed without her."
Adding, "She gave everything and took nothing. I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. May God welcome you and bless you and bring peace to all those who love you. Thank you for bringing much-needed visibility to Asian Americans and Asians around the world by sharing yourself on camera. You did not seek out that opportunity, but you embraced the challenge when asked. I love you forever."
Ms Shay is the daughter of Edward Shay, founder of the American defence and government services contractor Pacific Architects and Engineers, or PAE, who died in 1995. While the company's clients today include NASA and the U.N., in the 1960s and the 1970s, it provided cover for the Phoenix Program, a CIA-led operation to weed out undercover communist Viet Cong operatives and their sympathizers through a strategy that led to torture and, at times, killings of Vietnamese people and others, according to research reports, NBC News reported.
